A group representing frontline emergency staff has warned lives will be lost unless the Government reverses its decision on a new national postcode system due to be rolled out next spring.

John Kidd, chairman of the Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association, said the “mainly random nature” of the Eircode system would mean errors by users would go unnoticed, as well as cause confusion and may be “catastrophic” in terms of sending services to the wrong location.

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Neil McDonnell, general manager of the Freight Transport Association Ireland, said he understood Mr Kidd’s concerns. “Take, for example, two adjacent houses in Glasnevin, Dublin,” said Mr McDonnell. “One could be D11 ZXQ8, the other one D11 67TR. The four-character unique identifier is completely random, with no sequence or algorithm linking one house to the other.”